This article was inspired by an email I received. The author, who will remain anonymous, was “putting down” many retirement communities.

Depending on what is important to you, you may find the following destinations to be some of the worst places to retire or you may not! (My opinions are in the parenthese.) Keep in mind everyone has different wants and needs and expectations.

Clearwater City, Florida:  Large senior citizen population (Personally I see nothing wrong with that!)

Austin, Texas: Hard Time Getting a Doctor who Takes Medicare (I don’t know why.)

Anchorage, Alaska: Fewest Fellow Seniors (Brrrrr!!)

Bridgeport, Connecticut: Highest Taxes.

Wisconsin: The 2005 Bloomberg Wealth Manager rated Wisconsin the worst state for retirees, saying they pay on average $17,528 in property, income and sales taxes. (Yikes! There goes a huge amount of our income for the year!)

New Jersey:  Llocal property taxes average $1,871 (ranks low for retirees.)

Washington, DC: Most poor Seniors (and high cost of living!!! – great place to visit – but live there??? Especially in retirement??? Nope! Sort of like New Orleans – for Dick and I, as I report in my book, Retire In Luxury, we loved living there where the job checks were coming in, and we love visiting there now, but live there? No, No…)

Rhode Island: Least Older Men (Here, I am reminded of the “Casserole Brigade” in one retirement community. Dick was talking to a recently widowed gentleman at a gathering we were at and he was filling Dick in on the phenomenon that happens upon a wife’s death – the casserole brigade appears delivering casseroles in droves. This particular gentleman had no interest in “things in a dish that were unrecognizable”…and kept his trash full and the dishwasher busy just disposing of the “food”. Gals – take note…maybe an invitation for lunch at a nearby restaurant would be appropriate.)

Provo, Utah: Most Youthful Population (Dick and I recently spent some time in Utah – a unique state – full of wonderful, breathtaking scenery.)

Queens, New York: Violence and the Boulevard of Death (Oh dear…well, so much for New York! Think taxes may be a bit high there too!)

Your Kid’s House: (Well, as a last resort, maybe.)